Major Religions of the World
The Paths that People Take
Scholars of religion use the analogy of "each religion takes different paths to reach the desired outcome," while many religions believe that only their path will result in the desired outcome.
It is beneficial to look at the similarities of the different religions when studying other cultures. From a business perspective, it is highly advantageous to understand religion from a marketing standpoint. This understanding will eliminate offending a culture you are marketing to and help promote your business in a positive manner. It is quite obvious that a religious holiday such as Christmas in the United States is the hottest time of the year for many retail businesses.
According to the book How Do You Spell God, there are four questions that all religions try to answer:
- What's our place in the world?
- How can we live the right way?
- How do we pray?
- What happens to us after we die?
Using the analogy of different paths, you will create a series of prototype web pages that explain how each of the eight major world religions answer the above four questions.
But before we get to building this prototype, you need to collect all the content for this prototype.
Writing Descriptions for the Eight Major Religions
Click here to download the Religion Description Table
Answer the four questions religions answer in the corresponding table. An outline is shown below under "What Makes Religion?" The answers to almost all of the sections are linked below, however, they are not identified or in order.
Not every section will be filled with the answers given below for every religion, you will have to search for some of them. Use clues in the wording, a search engine, or research these sites (type religion or the specific religion in to the search):
What Makes Religion?
- What's our place in the world?
- How can we live the right way?
- How do we pray?
- What happens to us after we die?
WHAT'S OUR PLACE IN THE WORLD?
- Doing the right thing to obtain good Karma and move up the Caste System to avoid being born over and over again.
- Finding enlightenment or Nirvana through suffering and the idea of "no self."
- Following the right force or way to heaven.
- Following the Tao (pronounced with a "D" – like Dao) in order to have a good life.
- Follow the Tao and give respect to your ancestors.
- To love others the way Jesus loved.
- To dedicate my life to Allah.
HOW CAN WE LIVE THE RIGHT WAY?
- Follow the Five Pillars of Islam
- Profess your faith: "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the prophet of Allah."
- Pray five times a day by bowing toward the holy city of Mecca.
- Visit the Kabba in the city of Mecca once in your lifetime.
- Fast during Ramadan.
- Give charity to the poor.
- Follow the path to moksha (getting free from rebirth) with margas or yogas that include:
- Wisdom
- Prayer
- Good deeds
- Meditation
- Follow Dharma and the Eightfold Path because all life is suffering due to cravings and desire which can be overcome.
- Right Knowledge - What life is about
- Right Aspiration - Devotion to being on the path
- Right Speech - Speaking clearly and kindly
- Right Behavior - Don't kill, steal, lie, drink, or commit sexual offenses
- Right Livelihood - A good career not based on money
- Right Effort - Avoiding selfishness
- Right Mindfulness - Having self-awareness and engaging in thought
- Right Concentration - Being "absorbed"
- Accept Jesus as your savior who died for your sins.
- Accept that God will take care of the world and its people provided you do good deeds, follow the laws, pray to God, and study God's words.
- Follow selected teachings of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism along with worshiping the kami (souls of ancestors).
- Realize that "All is one" and if you follow the Tao, your life will be easy, if you go against it, you will get nowhere.
- Follow wise sayings and realize that the way to heaven is not a god but a force like gravity. If you respect this force, you will have a good life. If you go against it, you will have a bad life.
- Muhammad
- Jesus
- Lao-tzu
- Siddhartha Gautama
- Confucius
- Bible
- Quran
- Hebrew Bible and Talmud
- Vedas (stories about many gods)
HOW DO WE PRAY?
- Many
- Brahma: God that made the world
- Vishnu: God that keeps everything working
- Shiva: God that kills things
- Many
- #1 is Amaterasu (sun god)
- God - who created Adam
- God - who is father to Jesus, same god as Judaism
- Allah - same god as Judaism and Christianity
- not believed to be father to Jesus – Jesus was not the messiah, but a prophet
- There is no God (Allah) but God and Muhammad is his prophet
- Pray five (5) times a day, must face east, must be in a state of ritual purity, and consists of prescribed actions and words
- None - the way to heaven is following the force not a god
- Ganges River, Banaras
- Jerusalem
- Jerusalem
- Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem
- Shrines, religious statues, nature, agriculture, festivals
- Church
- Synagogue
- Masjid
- Stupa
- Temple
WHAT HAPPENS TO US AFTER WE DIE?
- Your mind, feeling, and will is reincarnated into another caste system unless you have reached moksha.
- Heaven or Hell
- Heaven or Hell
- Heaven or Hell
- Some people are born again; evildoers go to hell; righteous people go to heaven; those who are free from all worldly desires attain Nirvana. Since there is no self, only your karma goes with you.
